Hand-lever attachment for sewing-machines



PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904 J. W. WHEELEE. HAND LEVER ATTAGHMENTTOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED I STATES Patented February 23, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN WHITMAN WHEELER, OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

HAND-LEVER ATTACHMENT FDR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,738, dated February 23, 1904.

Application filed May 28, 1903. SerialNo. 159,189. (No model.)

To all whom/it may concern: Be it known that I, JONATHAN WHITMA WHEELER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of South Carolina, hav e invented a new and useful Hand-Lever Attachment for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification. a

This invention relates to hand-lever attachments for sewing-machines; and it consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which corresponding parts are designated by the same characters of reference throughout, and having the novel features thereof specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved form of hand-lever attachment for sewing 4 machines which may be employed without any change in the machine structure on any ordinary type of sewing-machine and which will not interfere in any way with the operation of the machine by foot-power when it is desired to do so.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand-lever attachment for sewing-machines of simple and inexpensive construction and one which is readily adjustable to sewingmachines of different sizes.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end view in elevation of a sewing-machine table and driving mechanism having the hand-lever attachment secured thereto, parts being broken away to show the way in which the hand IeVer attachment is fastened to the sewing-machine structure. Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the hand-lever attachment detached from the sewing-machine. Fig. 3 is a detail view, in transverse section, through the supporting bracket by means of which the lever is mounted upon a sewing-machine.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, F designates generally the frame of a sewing-machine, W the fly-wheel, P the pitman, and T the treadle, which are-all of ordinary construction and need no detailed description. 1 and 2 are plates forming a clamp for attachment to the right leg of the sewing machine frame.

Plates 1 and 2 are pierced by openings for the passage of screws 3, each tion of the bracket in relation to the leg of the sewing-machine may be readily adjusted.

The bracket 7 comprises a bent arm 7 a and a pair of spaced uprights 7", rigidly secured to the free end of said bent arm 7 Between the uprights 7 is pivotally mounted a leverarm 9, at one'end of which is secured, by means of a pivot 10 and a screw 11, provided with a thumb-nut 12, an extension 13, bearing a handle 14. At the other end of the lever-arm 9 there are formed a pair of longitudinally-disposed slots 15, through which pass screws 16 provided with thumb-nuts 17. The screws 16 also pass through openings in a bent supporting member 18, which is adjustably fastened to the lever 9 by said screws. The free end of the supporting member 18 is disposed clownwardly and has pivotally attached thereto a pitman 20, which has near the lower end thereof a portion bent at right angles to the remainder of the pitman and terminating in a downwardly-disposed terminal portion, upon which is pivotally secured aolamping-plate 21, pierced by suitable openings for the passage of screws 22, provided with thumb-nuts 23 and supporting a second clamping-plate 24.

The hand-lever attachment is applied to a sewing-machine by screwing the clampingplates 1 and 2 to the'right leg of the sewingmachine frame, adjusting the position of the bracket 7 upon'the bent terminal of plate 1, and then securing between the clamping-plates 21 and 24 the pitman P, as seen in Fig. 1. If necessary, the curved supporting member 18 will be adjusted by fastening the thumb-nuts 17 and shifting the screws 16 in the slots in the end of lever-arm 9.

VVhen the hand-lever attachment has been secured to the frame of the machine and the pitman, it is operated in the usual manner by oscillating the lever-arm 9 upon its point of pivotal support between the uprights 7 the power being applied to the lever-arm 9 through the handle 1A of the extension 13.

When it is desired to operate the machine by foot-power, using the treadle T, the thumbnut 12 will be removed from screw 11, which will then be disengaged from the openingprovided for it in the extension 13, which will be allowed to drop, so as to hang downward from the lever-arm 9 and not incommode the user of the machine by getting in the way.

It will be observed that by means of the slots provided in the bracket member 7 a the bracket member may be shifted in position relative to the clamp by which the attachment is secured to the machine-frame in order to bring the lever-arm as near as possible to the fiy-wheel W, so that the clamp at the lower end of the pitman 20 may be applied to the pitman P of the sewing-machine.

The parts of the attachment are so proportioned that when the lever-arm is not used to operate the sewing-machine and the extension is allowed to hang downward therefrom the weight of the members at either side of the pivotal point of the lever-arm will be in equilibrium, and the movement of the machine will not be retarded materially by the presence of the hand-lever attachment.

The inertia of the parts'of the attachment will of course increase to a very slight degree the effort necessary to operate the machine by foot-power when the hand-lever attachment is applied to the machine; but the increase in the effort required is so slight as to be practically unnoticeable.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, whatI claim as new,

and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A hand-lever attachment for sewing-machines comprising a clamp for engagement with a standard of a sewing-machine frame, a laterally-adjustable bracket mounted on said clamp, a pivoted lever supported by said bracket, a pitman, adjustable connecting devices between said pitman and said lever, and a clamp pivotally attached to said pitman and adapted for engagement with the treadle-pitman of a sewing-machine.

2. A hand-lever attachment for sewing-machines comprising a clamp for attachment to a standard of a machine-frame, a slotted arm projecting laterally from said clamp, a bracket having a similar slotted arm, bolts passing through the slots in said arms, a lever pivotally mounted on said bracket, a pitman carried by said lever, and means provided on said pitman for connection with the pitman of a sewing-machine.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JONATHAN WHITMAN WHEELER.

Witnesses:

J. H. BEATY, JAs. (J. LYNES 

